Keeping road shoulders free of debris, building small pull-outs where cyclists congregate and raising awareness among drivers about cyclists' rights are some of the solutions under consideration by a group working to ease tensions on winding canyon roads.

Boulder County's transportation department convened the working group, made up of cyclists, drivers and residents of canyon roads, after a new state law passed this summer exacerbated long-simmering tensions between cyclists and motorists.

The law gives cyclists more rights on the road, including a 3-foot berth when cars are passing and the ability to ride in the middle of a lane if the shoulder is unsafe. The law also says cyclists can ride two abreast as long as they are not impeding traffic.

At the group's second meeting Tuesday, members worked with facilitator Jonathon Bartsch to review proposals from the county transportation department for how to make it easier for motorists and cyclists to share the road and brainstorm ideas for new signs and slogans to promote responsibility by drivers and cyclists.

Once the group has a set of recommendations they can agree on, they'll hold public meetings to solicit more comment.

Transportation Department Director George Gerstle said the county is prepared to make money and resources available to improve riding conditions in James Canyon, Left Hand Canyon and along Old Stage and Lee Hill Roads if cyclists and canyon residents agree the measures will help.

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One easy measure, Gerstle said, would be cleaning and maintaining the shoulders of the road during the riding season to encourage more cyclists to use it. The county also could pave some pull-outs in areas where cyclists frequently congregate, sometimes blocking traffic.

Gerstle said the proposals should not be very expensive. The funds would come from sales tax revenue.

Group members generally agreed on the approach, but canyon road residents warned the proposals would be controversial in some circles.

"How do you pitch this use of county resources when there's people who equate safer roads with more cyclists?" asked Joe Ryan, who lives near Ward. "There's people who would just assume you make it harder to ride up there."

That attitude came as a shock to some cyclists.

"To say, 'Don't improve it because it will be safer,' just doesn't make sense," said Ray Keener, a cyclist who considers himself an advocate of responsible cycling.

But Tara Schoedinger, a cyclist and member of the Jamestown Village Board, said bikers need to keep in mind that if they don't ride responsibly, it may not be safer -- even with improved conditions.

Several cyclists in the group said they are seeing a push for more self-policing as cyclists realize that "bad apples" may ruin canyon riding for everyone. Some cyclists fear Boulder County could follow Jefferson County's lead and ban cyclists from some canyons, a move county officials said is not on the table.

Nancy Mervar, who lives in the Rabbit Mountain area and is an advocate of controversial measures like bike registration, said she learned things about the cyclist's experience riding on canyon roads. For example, she hadn't realized it was impossible for cyclists to stay in the shoulder at high speeds during a descent.

Cyclists, too, learned things about the driver's perspective. After Schoedinger said how much it scares her to drive behind a cyclist descending a canyon road for fear that if the cyclist falls, she won't be able to stop in time, another cyclist said it was a shock to realize that doing what made her feel safe and in control as a cyclist might frighten a driver.

Mervar said she's optimistic about the proposals coming from the group.

"It felt very good to me to have the combination of the Sheriff's Office, the Transportation Department, the cyclist community, the motorist community, the resident community all recognizing that there is a problem and trying to solve the problem," she said. "It's really a positive and hopeful process."

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